Locomotive-tender stoker mechanism.



W. T. HANNA. LOCOMOTIVE TENDER STOKER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.28. 1913. 1,239,101.

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w. T. HANNA. LOCOMOTIVE TENDER STOKER MECHANISM.

t APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1913. 1,939,101

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2.'

mg 46 t W. T. HANNA. LOCOMOTIVE TENDER sroguzn MECHANISM.

0 APPLICATION FILED AUG.28. I913- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'1'. HANNA, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MECHANICAL CON- STRUCTION COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

LOCOMOTIVE-TEND'ER STOKER MECHANISM.

' Patented Sept. 41, mm.

Application filed August 28, 1918. Serial No. 787,226.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I,-WILLIAM T. HANNA, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Cincinnati in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Locomotive-Tender Stoker Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in 'stokers which are particularly though not exclusively adapted for use on locomotive engines. This particular part of my invention is concerned with the means and mechanism for conveying coal fuel from a hopper such as that of a tender of a locomotive to the fire box of the engine.

The invention has for its objects the takingof the fuel successively from all parts of the hopper or tender in such manner that the conveying mechanism does not sustain the entire weight of the whole fuel mass but the opening from the hopper to the conveyer may be shifted at successive stages from one part, usually the front of the tender hopper to the rear thereof, so that as the fuel at one part is exhausted, portions may be taken from progressively different parts of the mass. A further object is to provide means to crush lumps of fuel to a size suitable for easy conveyance through the feed chute to the fuel distributing mechanism which mechanism is located within thefire door of the fire box. A further object isto provide for the relative movement'between the tender and engine when under way on the road by providing a universal joint between the conveyer mechanism on the tender and the secondary mechanism on the engine. A further object is to'provide'eifective and compact driving means for the operation of the fuel conveying means as well as for the fuel feed and distributing mechanism which is to be used with this device.

With these and other objects as it will appear from the following description, the invention consists in the constructions and relative arrangement of parts and mode of operation the preferred embodiments of which are illustrated in the acompanying drawing in which:

3 Figure 1 is a fragmentary View inplan of the hopper or tender and engine conveyer mechanisms forming the subject matterof this invention, parts being broken away for clear illustration; Fig. 2 is a ver tical section taken longitudinally of the hopper mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3

is a detail plan view of the bridge which .4

extends over the conveyer hopper on the tender; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the bridge member shown in Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 comprise a plan and a side elevation respectively of the shiftable opening wings or segments for varying the position of the opening from the tender hopper to the tender conveyer hopper; Fig. 7 is a view in elevergingly to. a floor area of comparatively small dimensions. Within and-beneath this area I place my conveyer hopper 4, which may be, and preferably is, of inverted cone shape. Upon a flange 5 at the upper edge of this conveyer hopper is mounted a bridge member 6 the forward end 7 (Fig. 3) of which, or that toward the cab, is of considerable vvidth to afiord a foot-way for the fireman. This wider portion is also of segmental shape as shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose hereinafter described. The opposite end of the bridge member is narrow and substantially straight. This bridge member is bolted to the flange 5 of the conveyer hop per through the bolt holes 9-9. This bridge member 6 is provided with a strengthening web 10 and a. truss member 11 and at the center of the bridge is a circular hub 12 heads 15 to prevent them from dropping entirely through the pivot holes- In order to prevent the resting of the weight of the entire mass of the fuel in the tender hopper upon the conveyer mechanism within the conveyer hop} er 4, it is necessary that there be only a reduced opening between the tender hopper'and said conveyer hopper. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the taking of fuel from all parts of the mass in the tender hopper it is necessary that it be possible to shift this opening from'front to rear of the tender as the mass of, fuel is reduced.

It is also desirable that as the mass of fuel recedes to the rear of the tender hopper the flooring of the tender hopper over the conveyer hopper be restored or maintained 1ntact so that the fireman may have ample foot-way for any desired operations in the tender. To this end a series of shiftable floor segments are used in conjunction wlth the bridge member 6 extending over the conveyer hopper. .One of these segments 1s illustrated at 16, Figs. 5 and 6, and the series is shown in plan in Fig. 1, and in sectional view in Fig. 2. Each of these segments comprises a floor or cover plate 17 extending radially from the hub 18 and is bracediby webs 19 and 20, Figs. 5 and 6. The hub 18 of the segment is perforated at center to receive the pivot pin 15. These segment hubs are of a length to fit more or less accurately between the flanges 13 and 14 of the hub 12 of the bridge member 6 so that when placed in position the segmental pieces or floor segments may be pivoted on the bridge hub 12 and may be capable of swinging a limlted distance toward or from the arms 7 or 8 of said bridge member. As seen in Fig. 2 these floor segments are mounted to swing beneath the edges of the widened end 7 or to the narrow end 8 of the bridge member and the outer ends of the segments rest upon the annular flange of the conveyer hopper 4. It is to be understood that the number of segments pivotedupon either,-side of the bridge member is just suflicient to close the entire opening between the tender hopper and the conveying hopper 4 when the edges of the segments upon either side iof wider portion 7 of the bridge member 6 lie just beneath the opposite edges respectively of this wide portion and the widened portion of the bridge is made of a dimension equal to the area of two of these floor segments. When therefore it is desired to open communication between the tender hopper and the conveyer hopper one of these segments upon either or both sides of the widened portion 7 of the bridge member may be swung beneath such wide portion, thus leaving an opening'in the floor of the tender hopper for access of coal to the conveyer hopper 4:.

It is to be understood, further, that this widened portion of the bridge member 6 is to be located at the forward end of the tender hopper so that the mass of the fuel at beneath the wide portion 7 of the bridge member 6. Thus the opening between the tender hopper and conveyer hopper is sh'iftthe bridge member itself may be readily dislodged and deposited through the opening left by the shifted segment. It is to be understood that my invention covers broadly the idea of producing a shiftable opening betweenthe tender hopper and the conveying mechanism by which successive portions of the fuel mass may be fed to the conveyer while at the same time the conveyer is relieved of the weight of the entire fuel mass.

Having described the means and method for so feeding the fuel to the conveyer I will now describe the means for conveying the fuel from the conveyer hopper on the tender to the engine and thence to the fire box of the engine, and incidentally for cutting or crushing fuel lumps of excessive size to reduce the fuel to the most effective size for i '1, the journal bearing 22 does not extend .fore and aft axially of the tender but is arranged at an angle so, that the conveyer tube hereinafter described may convey the fuel to a convenient point beneath the cab of the engine for the purpose hereinafter described. Cast integrally with the conveyer hopper is a conveyer trough 26 extendingaxially with the journal bearing 22 and within this trough is mounted a conveyer screwor worm 27 fixed upon a shaft 28 journaled in the long journal bearing 22, the conveyer screw being of the well known sectional form so that should any part become broken it may be readily replaced. At the rear of the screw shaft 28 is fixed a driving gear 29, Figs. -1 and 2, which meshes with a driving. pinion 30 on the driving shaft 31 journaled in bearings cast in the conveyer hopper. This driving shaft 31 extends into a second gear box 32 beneath the conveyer hopper and. is provided with a bevel gear 33 meshing with a. second bevel gear 34 mounted on the power shaft 35 of a suitable motor 36 located conveniently within one of the tool lockers 37 at the for-' ward end of the tender. The motor .36 may be conveniently operated by a steam connection (not shown) extending from the locomotive boiler.

The conveyer screw 27 carries the coal from the conveyer hopper 4 to a feed spout 38, Figs. 1 and 2, which spout is connected by a universal joint 39 with a delivery pipe or tube 40 which in turn over-lies at. its outer end a small hopper 41 within which is mounted a second conveyer screw or worm 42. This second worm or screw may be driven in any desired manner, as, for example, by a universal jointed shaft 42 connected with the shaft 31. The hopper 41 has a lateral opening 43 which communicates with a conveyer pipe 44 within which is mounted a third conveyer screw 45 to raise the fuel to the curved delivery spout 46 which in turn delivers the fuel to fuel feed and distributing mechanism which is located adjacent and within the fire door opening of the engine fire box. This fuel feed and delivery mechanism is not here illustrated, as its specific form it does not form a part of the present invention but it is to be understood broadly as a part of the combination and is illustrated and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No..789,866, filed on the 15th day of September, 1913. The upright conveyer screw 45 is of peculiar construction to prevent jamming of the fuel as it is raised through the upward extending tube 44, that is to say, the shaft 47 of. this conveyer worm 45 is of considerable diameter atthe base and tapers to a smaller diameter at the top, whereby a considerably greater space is afforded between the walls of the conveyer tube and the shaft at the top of said tube whereby any tendency of the fuel to pack as it is raised is prevented by this greater space. In order to insure the forcing of the fuel from the hopper 41 through the lateral opening and into the upright conveyer tube 44 the conveyer worm 42 is provided at its forward 'end with a reversed section 43 so that the junction of these two worm sections 42 and 48 serve to concentrate the fuel at the side opening 43. The upright worm 45 may be driven in any desired manner, as for example by a short counter shaft 49 having a sprocket wheel 50 connected by a sprocket chain 51 with a sprocket wheel on the shaft 52 of worm 42, shafts 47 and 49 may be connected together by miter gears in the ordinary manner. 4

In order to enable the stoker mechanism to handle fuel of various sizes, and particularly such for example as is known as run of mine coal, I provide adjacent the conveyer screw 27 a crushing knife 53 which is of arc shape and arches across over the conveyer trough 26 just above and closely adjacent to the worm of the conveyer screw. It will be seen therefore that the fuel lumps as they are carried forward by the conveyer screw 27 will be reduced to a size sufficient 'to pass between the conveyer shaft and the they are capable of passing through the opening communicating with the conveyer hopper, for in all cases the fuel lumps will be reduced to a certain maximum size determined by the set of the knives with respect to the conveyer screw.

In order that there may be no possibility of choking of the fuel in the conveyer tube 40 the same may be tapered somewhat from front to rear so that its forward diameter will be greater than the rear diameter.

It will be noted that the engine hopper 41 is arranged to one side and independently of the locomotive frame 2. This arran ement not only gives ready access to t is hopper and the mechanism therein from the side of the engine but also positions the hopper at a convenient point beneath the deck of the cab where a trap door in the cab floor may be located to give access directly to said hopper from the cab. This is especially advantageous if for any reason the tender conveyer mechanism is thrown out of commission and it is desirable to con tinue the stoker feed independently of the tender mechanism. This, furthermore, constitutes one of the main objects of arranging the conveyer screws and tubes from the tender conveyer-to the engine stoker at an angle to the axial line of the tender and locomotive, and for the purpose of operation of the conveyer mechanism on the engine independently of the. tender conveyer mechanism the power shaft 31 may have a clutch of any suitable type interposed between itself and the pinion 30 so that the tender conveyer mechanism may be thrown out of operation while the engine conveyer mechanism continues to operate. The fireman in this case opens the hatch or trap door communicating with the engine hopper 41 and feeds the fuel directly thereto by hand shoveling.

While I have herein described a particular embodiment of my invention it is to be of operation within the scope of the appended claims.

ran

What I claim is:

1. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper, a conveyer trough and a feed screw therein for con veying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said distributing mechanism, said storage hopper having an opening communicating with said conveyer hopper and means to shift said opening relatively to said storage hopper as the fuel recedes from the initial position of said opening.

2. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper having means for conveying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said distributing mechanism, the floor of said storage hopper having an opening communicating with said conveyer hopper, a fixed bridging member extending over said opening and a plurality of closer members secured to said bridging member and adapted to be shifted successively to shift the point of communication between said hoppers from one part to another of said storage hopper as the fuel mass is exhausted in the latter;

3. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper having means for conveying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said distributing mechanism, the floor of said storage hopper having a cir cular opening therein, a bridging member extending over said opening, a plurality of closer members pivoted to said bridging member and extending to the periphery of said opening, said closer members being adapted to be swung successively to shift the point of communication between said hoppers as the fuel mass in said storage hoppers is exhausted. 7

4. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper having means for conveying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said dlstributing mechanism, the floor of said hopper having an opening, a bridging member extending over said opening, a plurality of closer members carried by said brid ing member adapted normally toclose sai opening, one or more of said closer members being adapted to be moved beneath said bridging member to open communication between said hoppers, the remaining closer members being adapted to be shifted successively to shift the point of ning said opemng and affording a foot-way thereover, a plurality of closer members supported by said bridging member and resting upon the edge of the said opening, said closer members being adapted to be shifted to open communication between said hoppers at the various points of said floor opening said shifting of the closer members being adapted to shift the point of communication between said-hoppers as the mass offuel in the storage hopper recedes.

6. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and aconveyer hopper having means for conveying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said distributing mecha nism, the floor of said storage hopper having a circular opening, a bridging member spanning said opening and affording a footway thereover, a circular series of closer members pivoted adjacent the center of said bridging member, one or both of said closer members adjacent one end of said bridging member being adapted to be shifted under said end to open communication between said hoppers, the other members of said series beingadapted to be shifted successively toward said previously shifted closer members to shift the point or points of communication between said hoppers as the mass of fuel recedes from said points of communication successively.

7. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to a fuel distributing mechanism, of a fuel supply mechanism comprising a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper having means for conveying fuel from said conveyer hopper to said distributing mechanism, the floor of said storage hopper having a circular opening communicatingwith said conveyer hopper, a bridging member spanning said opening diametrically, one end of said bridging member being wider than the other to form a foot-way over said wall of said opening, the closer members adjacent said wider portion of the bridging member being adapted to be swung under said portion to open communication between said hoppers and the remaining closer members being adapted to be swung successively from their initial closing positions over against the; previously shifted closer members to shift 'the point or points of communication between said hoppers as the fuel mass recedes from said points ofcommunication.

8. In a furnace stoker mechanism, the combination in mechanism for feeding fuel to fuel distributing means, of fuel supply means comprising a storage'hopper, a conveyer hopper located beneath the same and of substantially inverted cone shape, said storage hopper having an opening communicating with 'said conveyer hopper, means for varying the size and position of the communicating opening between said hoppers, a conveyer screw located in said con.-

veyer hopper, said opening and changing means serving to relieve said conveyer screw from the total weight of the mass of fuel in said storage hopper.

9. In a fuel conveyer mechanism, the combination with a storage hopper and a conveyer hopper, the floor of said storage hopper having an opening communicating with said conveyer hopper, a fixed bridging member extending from said opening and a plurality of closer members secured to said bridging member and adapted to be shifted successively to shift the point of communication between said hoppers from one part to another of said storage hopper as the fuel mass is exhausted in the latter.

In testimony whereof, I the said WILLIAM T.-HANNA have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM 'I. HANNA.

Witnesses:

MARTHA A. HANNA, R. T, DIoKEBsoN, 

